Toddler Art Class: Playdough & Pinecones

Making impressions in dough with nature and a few other things.

Art Project: Playdough & Pinecones
Supplies:
playdough (we used this recipe because it was no-cook and okay if kids ate it)
objects to poke the dough with (pinecones, plastic bugs, wooden sticks....)
rollers (I have some very sturdy cardboard tubes that I found somewhere that worked well.  Sets of wooden blocks often have a cylindrical piece that might work well. A length of PVC pipe cut into shorter lengths would be cheaper than a class set of rolling pins...)

Book:  
Penguin and Pinecone : a friendship story / Yoon, Salina
(although an odd choice for a program in June, this one fit this project really nicely!  white dough = snow, pinecone is there and the heart he makes out of little stones was reminiscent of the "stone arranging" class a few weeks ago.)

Toddler Art Class: Painting Branches

Choosing non-traditional (yet safe) surfaces for kids to paint on can be very motivating!

Art Project: Painting Branches
Supplies:
branches (I used ones that were no longer connected to a living tree, but I suppose you could paint on actual trees if you preferred?)
paint
brushes
containers for paint

Book:  
Fall is not easy / Kelley, Marty

Toddler Art Class: Arranging Stones

Rock on, toddlers!

Today's topic: Arranging Stones
Supplies:
rocks (purchased from a craft store or just gathered from your nearest pile of rocks)

What we read:

Stick and Stone / Ferry, Beth

we also discussed the artwork of Andy Goldsworthy--

Stone / Goldsworthy, Andy

Craft Lab: Screen Printing

Bubbler Jr. brings Lesley Numbers to the Alicia Ashman branch for some fantastic screen printing lessons!

Today's project: Screen Printing
Supplies:
(a hired professional, optional)
screens (pre-burned or blank)
squeegees
something to print on
screen printing ink
plastic sheets to cut shapes from (same size as your screens, if possible)
cutting tools (we used die cut machine, scissors, exacto knives....)

What the teens did:
Learn the basic technique--

 Speed up drying with a hair dryer--

 Use the blank screens to create their own designs---

 Cut a design from the plastic sheets, then tape it to a screen, covering all the screen that you DON'T want ink to go through--

 Make cute matching BFF! shirts (with a little hand-painted heart to cover up the identical smudges in the corner--brilliant!)--

 Make your own Deadpool shirt--

 Touch up bits with a paintbrush if necessary--

 Or... just add some new bits (nice shades, duck!)

Thanks for the fun lesson!

WonderWorks: Rainbows & Prisms

Today we observed and documented rainbows in prisms and other reflective objects and explored the ideas of rainbow color, color blending, and light!

Today's Topic: Rainbows and Prisms (a guest post by Rebecca Pettyjohn)
Supplies: 
Prisms
CDs (great rainbow reflectors!)
Sidewalk chalk
Rainbow ribbons
Color Paddles
Colors tubes (paper towel tubes with ends covered in different colored transparent plastic)
Mixed Colors supplies for sorting (feathers, beads, pipe cleaners, punched out paper, whatever you have!)
Colorful paper strips in ROYGBIV colors
Clip art clouds
Scissors
Glue

What we read:
Duckie's rainbow / Barry, Frances